What Does Your Unit Fly?

[Eclipse]

Agreed with the 206, if money was no object.  Make some of them Turbo and some normally aspirated.

I think the key phrase here is "if money is no object".  Unfortunately, it often is.  Wing needs birds to fly a certain number of hours each year to justify the annual costs.  Some of that happens via our missions.  The rest must be borne by our pilots or squadrons in un-reimbursed activities such as proficiency flights.  It's a basic economic fact that aircraft with lower operating costs/rental rates will, all things being equal, be flown more.  I'm sure there is a calculated point at which each of our birds can be realistically supported, but I would guess that those points for 182's is significantly lower than those of 206's.  Don't really know because our wing doesn't have 206's (yet).  Bottom line, I think, its that 182's would likely be flown more on the pilot's dime than 206's, thereby providing more to wing's support objectives.  Just supposition on my part.

You'd have to push pretty hard on the cost before CAP aircraft aren't >always< the better deal then the local rentals, rarely is cost specifically
indicated as the reason pilots don't fly CAP planes - generally it's nonsense about "too much hassle", which just means they
don't understand the process.

At least for mission pilots, once you've done your initials, if you're maintaining your CAP quals on your own dime you're doing it wrong.
Most wings leave money on the table every year, and a large number have quick-spin ("it's nice out lets fly in an hour") open monthly missions
that are fully funded.

[SunDog]

IRT the 206 - that's a real question of taste; it has "ponderous" handling, for one.  Most run-of-the-mill missions can be handled by the cheaper, slightly less ponderous 182, I think. I can't imagine too many people paying to fly a 206 - like the Airvan, it'd probably be mostly used on funded missions. Which is O.K., of course. Just that it's gonna suck up $$$ to operate. But if your wing is letting $$$ sit every month, why not?  More $$$ to acquire and maintain, too.

CAP 172's usually can't be beat on price; and they tend to be in better shape (usually) and better equipped than FBO dogs.  There are clubs where you CAN fly a 172 for about the same $$$ as a CAP 182, particularly military aero clubs.  My geo siutation was such that I'd rarely fly a CAP 182 on my own dime - really, almost never. For a lot less "hassle", I could fly a G430 equipped 172 for about the same price as a CAP 182 at my club.

Can't agree on "not understanding the process", not after 14 years spent flying CAP. I (and other MPs in my wing) understood the process very well, though the details probably vary from wing-to-wing, and how well connected your were with the GOBN.  For the inner circle, likely a quick phone call did the trick. . .

But I digress; it is certainly true that a lot of funded flying was passed up in my wing. For myself, and other former MPs I know, the problem was more the time suck; triple or quadruple the pre-and-post flight electron/paper chase for CAP vs non-CAP.  Some of it made sense; much of it was a waste of time.  I think the annoyance factor was as great an influence as the actual time wasted. Even a realtively quick step is a real irritant, if it's patently pointless. . .distracting, too, of course.

However, I do agree if you're willing to embrace the "overhead" and not let it bother you too much, there isn't much reason a CAP MP should ever pay to fly in CAP, for sure.

I think there is a progression with MPs - early on, you check the boxes, whack the electrons, whatever it takes to get the mission flown. After a couple of years, you start to get a feel for what is pointless (or serving a need other than the mission), and that stuff becomes a minor/moderate annoyance.  After a few more years, you may be a little busier, professionally or with family, and have a lot less tolerance for time-sucks.  If you're in an "outer circle" squadron, you look at WMIRS, you look at aircaft and mission distribution, and you realize the GOBN is real and very effective. . .some cynicism creeps in about then.

And if you have a few more $$$, maybe you start flying non-CAP a little more, and CAP a little less. After a bit longer, spending Friday night and all day Saturday to get in one sortie of questionable value, you start thinking about the other things you could be doing with that time. And then one year Form 91 time rolls around, and you just let it go by. . .

I was talking to a F-16 pilot recently, and expressed my envy at his ride - he took me aback when he said "The last time I had fun flying, I paid for it. . ."  I'd heard that saying before, but kinda applied that to airline and other "straight-and-level" types.  With CAP, for some of us, after a while the rewards aren't worth the time required.   

That may not be a bad thing, either - new blood is good; maybe some changes happen, based on the realization of why you lost some folks.